To me, there is nothing in the entire universe better than having a new baby in your home.  I love the smells, the sounds, the calm energy, the bits of baby-ness making a trail all through the house (pacifiers, nursing pads, changing supplies, receiving blankets..) It’s all just pure heaven to me.  This may also be the reason that I adore photographing new babies right in their own homes.  I love when couples are too busy admiring their new baby to even notice I’m there.  I love when families get all snuggled up in bed (where I always spent most of my days as a mom with a new baby) and just relish in all the newborn goodness.
The Griffin family was great for letting me come into their home and let me document them in this happiest of times.  I was able to photograph Jessica’s maternity session, her birth session and their newborn session.  Booking a birth package has so many advantages, At our maternity session I really get to know my moms/families, and like-wise, they get to know me.  I get to see them in action and hear all about their pregnancies and previous deliveries and just chat all things mom and baby related (my favorite subjects).  This gives me such a better direction in how I document their birth, and helps them see my approach to shooting and get really comfortable with me.  As I’ve mentioned before, birth is really personal for me and when I know the family and we’ve had sessions together, it helps me document that birth in a more personal way.  I feel like I leave a piece of myself in all my birth sessions.  I am shooting the world through my own eyes, and as I get to know the mother, I can photograph her as I see her.  This is essential in creating a personal and intimate session.
By the time we get to a newborn session, we’re all a big family.  We can lovingly re-cap on how lovely the birth was, I can admire all the changes the baby has made in the week or two since I’ve seen him last.  We often get chatting about nursing and sleep schedules and all that post-delivery care I’ve grown to love so much.  At this point, the family is so comfortable with me and can truly open up to me.  It takes the pressure off of both of us and we can just relax and create a beautiful session.
When I delivered the birth and newborn discs to Jessica, we sat and looked through them together with tears streaming down both of our faces.  It’s these moments that I live and breathe for.  It’s what makes this more than a job for me.  I am truly a blessed woman to be able to photograph this pure love between a mother and her family.

I hope you enjoyed this session as much as I did photographing it.

xo, C